JERUSALEM, February 16, 2026 (WAFA) – The Jerusalem Governorate affirmed that the agreement announced by the so-called “Ministry of Construction and Housing” in the Israeli occupation government at the beginning of February, to build approximately 2,780 colonies units to expand the “Adam” settlement built on Palestinian-owned land north of occupied Jerusalem, reveals in essence the systematic annexation intentions sought by the occupation authorities. It constitutes a misleading cover aimed at expanding the boundaries of the occupation municipality in Jerusalem beyond the Green Line, as part of a deliberate policy to impose new realities of sovereignty on the ground without an official declaration.
In a statement issued today, Monday, the Governorate clarified that promoting the so-called “expansion of the Adam settlement” is nothing but an attempt to circumvent the truth. The plan shows that the new settlement neighborhood will effectively be administered as a neighborhood belonging to the occupation municipality in Jerusalem, despite being presented formally as part of the settlement, in a blatant attempt to conceal the annexation process behind misleading planning titles.
She explained that the plan entails the construction of hundreds of settlement units on land geographically separate from the Adam settlement and currently lacking any direct access roads, despite previous proposals to build a bridge connecting them.
Construction in this area would create geographical contiguity with occupied Jerusalem, effectively making the project an extension of the "Neve Ya'akov" settlement, designated for Haredi settlers. This is particularly significant given that the planned access road to the neighborhood originates from and returns to Neve Ya'akov, thus expanding the occupation's municipal control in the city.
The governorate noted that the plan's advancement and acceleration followed extensive colonial changes implemented by the extremist Israeli Finance Minister, Smotrich, within the so-called "Civil Administration." These changes included the introduction of mechanisms to expedite the approval of settlement projects in the West Bank, potentially enabling the plan's implementation within a few years.
The Jerusalem Governorate stressed that all these measures expose the occupation's policy of gradual annexation and the imposition of sovereignty by force, within a project aimed at changing the geographic and demographic character of occupied Jerusalem and undermining any possibility of a political solution based on international law.
The so-called "Ministry of Construction and Housing" in the occupation government announced on February 3 the signing of an agreement with a budget of approximately 120 million shekels to construct about 2,780 new settlement units, along with the construction of roads, infrastructure, and various facilities near the "Adam" settlement, which is built on Palestinian-owned land.
K.T
